OT The Nerdy stuff Thread

[DOT]

Frieren and Dungeon Meshi both show exactly what Isekai anime are missing

They're just good shows, and as someone who read Dungeon Meshi to the end, it remained hilarious throughout.

What's really frustrating about Isekai anime, is even the good ones can't capture what the light novels did. Mushoku Tensei the anime can't convey all the psychological aspects that the Light Novel does. So Rudeus' growth and development just doesn't hit like it does in the light novel. On the one hand, they do their best to show that it's a narrative about overcoming trauma...on the other hand, there's no quick and easy way to convey Rudeus' confusion, misunderstandings, and trauma responses in 20-minute episode formats.

...and the rest of the Isekai that had interesting and new POV's all got dropped after one season. Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash coulda been a game changer

I mean

Rudy is an actual pedophile, and the story doesn't condemn him for that or really comment on it being wrong that he actually sleeps with underage girls. Like, the introduction to him is him missing his parents' funeral to masturbate to a video of his niece, who is a child, in the bathroom, and we're supposed to feel sorry for him. His family was 100% in the right to kick him out, and should've pursued legal action against him

People can talk about growth and redemption, and it does show him grow in some ways, but he never has to atone for his worst actions which is why I had to drop the show.

[DOT]

OP 1117:
I was waiting for this info for weeks...

Spoiler:

I'm curious how this ties into Gol D Roger's crew being too early. The sea level rise would fit, but I'm not sure how they'd be able to predict when the ancient weapons would be used. The ongoing war has gotta include the Will of D and the middle initial D people. I'm really optimistic for more info next chapter.

Spoiler:

So, of course the feed cuts out right when we get to it

Watch on YouTube

[j4remi]

Frieren and Dungeon Meshi both show exactly what Isekai anime are missing

They're just good shows, and as someone who read Dungeon Meshi to the end, it remained hilarious throughout.

What's really frustrating about Isekai anime, is even the good ones can't capture what the light novels did. Mushoku Tensei the anime can't convey all the psychological aspects that the Light Novel does. So Rudeus' growth and development just doesn't hit like it does in the light novel. On the one hand, they do their best to show that it's a narrative about overcoming trauma...on the other hand, there's no quick and easy way to convey Rudeus' confusion, misunderstandings, and trauma responses in 20-minute episode formats.

...and the rest of the Isekai that had interesting and new POV's all got dropped after one season. Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash coulda been a game changer

I mean

Rudy is an actual pedophile, and the story doesn't condemn him for that or really comment on it being wrong that he actually sleeps with underage girls. Like, the introduction to him is him missing his parents' funeral to masturbate to a video of his niece, who is a child, in the bathroom, and we're supposed to feel sorry for him. His family was 100% in the right to kick him out, and should've pursued legal action against him

People can talk about growth and redemption, and it does show him grow in some ways, but he never has to atone for his worst actions which is why I had to drop the show.

This kinda gets to my point. That's a false interpretation and the niece thing isn't in the light novel (which I'm reading). The canon version is that it's just plain old porn. Though he did play loli-games, so he's still a total creep. The thing is, NO ONE is supposed to feel bad for him. HE acknowledges that his family was 100% right to kick him out and that he owes his brother an apology, and that's without the creepy niece thing.

In the LN, he's just a pervy NEET. He stood up to bullies for somebody, they beat him up, stripped him naked and tied him to a fence in front of his whole school. From there, he didn't do anything but sit in his room and look at porn.

When he gets Isekai'd, he starts over and he's got his past experience but there's nothing to draw from except for trauma and porn. So, he does a bunch of dumb ****. But he always pays a price for the behavior and learns from it. Sometimes, he doesn't even do the bad things. He just sees someone else reflecting his previous life and learns from it. Either way, he ALWAYS acknowledges when something is wrong, gross, or both.

The anime/manga don't do a great job of showing it. The LN does a WAY better job of showing the inexperience part that's so crucial to the narrative working. But regardless, the goal everyone is supposed to look down on the Rudeus from his previous life. It's not apologetic about him at all.

[DOT]

The anime/manga don't do a great job of showing it. The LN does a WAY better job of showing the inexperience part that's so crucial to the narrative working. But regardless, the goal everyone is supposed to look down on the Rudeus from his previous life. It's not apologetic about him at all.

It's not just the previous life

He sleeps with multiple underage girls after getting Isekai'd.

[j4remi]

The anime/manga don't do a great job of showing it. The LN does a WAY better job of showing the inexperience part that's so crucial to the narrative working. But regardless, the goal everyone is supposed to look down on the Rudeus from his previous life. It's not apologetic about him at all.

It's not just the previous life

He sleeps with multiple underage girls after getting Isekai'd.

Actually it's just the one who gets him drunk, can overpower him (by her own admission, which is why she feels guilty and runs away after), and who he tries to stop initially. Granted, he creeped on Eris when they were younger but that became a formative experience for him. He realized real-life isn't an eroge, and agreed to respect her and wait until she's ready. That's why he tries to stop her at first when it does go down.

After that he's impotent until Sylphie, who he marries and starts a family with.

There's the Sara encounter in between, but again, it's part of the overarching "getting over his sexual trauma" plot. He's too damaged by the Eris stuff to even realize she's interested until she's in his room and making a move. Then it doesn't happen because he's impotent, and the guilt from everything makes him try to commit suicide.

But again, none of it is meant to portray Rudeus as sympathetic or excused. He's never put in a good light with these situations, they're just portrayed as complicated and messy.

Which is what makes the MT discourse so frustrating. It reminds me of Fight Club. Fight Club the book is mocking toxic masculinity. But the movie changed the ending and now a bunch of people think it's a celebration of toxic masculinity. Nah, the book is a condemnation of the MC's actions. Same for the MT Light Novel, it's very obviously showing the bad that comes from Rudeus' behavior and he learns to be better through suffering the consequences.

[DOT]

After that he's impotent until Sylphie, who he marries and starts a family with.

Yeah, we got a word for that

Grooming.

[DOT]

OP 1117:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

It's the little touches like this. Every chapter has someone we haven't seen in ages reacting to the news, and then Oda drops D. On Krieg, Gin, and Pearl in the background on Hachinosou

Really does add to the feeling of depth to the world.

[j4remi]

After that he's impotent until Sylphie, who he marries and starts a family with.

Yeah, we got a word for that

Grooming.

Again, it probably would look that way if you don't realize Rudy spends almost his entire time with Sylphie thinking she's a dude and trying to make a best friend.

Rudy never actively courts Sylphie, even the second time they meet. He thinks she's a powerful dude named Fitz, and they strike up a friendship again.

Again, the LN makes this very obvious. Rudy's a lot more oblivious than people who haven't seen/read the source material, might realize.

[DOT]

After that he's impotent until Sylphie, who he marries and starts a family with.

Yeah, we got a word for that

Grooming.

Again, it probably would look that way if you don't realize Rudy spends almost his entire time with Sylphie thinking she's a dude and trying to make a best friend.

Rudy never actively courts Sylphie, even the second time they meet. He thinks she's a powerful dude named Fitz, and they strike up a friendship again.

Again, the LN makes this very obvious. Rudy's a lot more oblivious than people who haven't seen/read the source material, might realize.

Look man, you're defending an adult having a sexual relationship with a teenager he's known since she was like 7 and he was mentally in his 30s at least

That's not okay, and the story doesn't punish him for that, it rewards him. Like you say, they end up together at the end. That's not punishing him, that's rewarding him

It would be one thing if it were unrequited on his end, or if the story explicitly called him out on it being creepy, but the fact it's supposed to be a wholesome romance is just like, no.

[MrDollarBills]

Frieren and Dungeon Meshi both show exactly what Isekai anime are missing

They're just good shows, and as someone who read Dungeon Meshi to the end, it remained hilarious throughout.

What's really frustrating about Isekai anime, is even the good ones can't capture what the light novels did. Mushoku Tensei the anime can't convey all the psychological aspects that the Light Novel does. So Rudeus' growth and development just doesn't hit like it does in the light novel. On the one hand, they do their best to show that it's a narrative about overcoming trauma...on the other hand, there's no quick and easy way to convey Rudeus' confusion, misunderstandings, and trauma responses in 20-minute episode formats.

...and the rest of the Isekai that had interesting and new POV's all got dropped after one season. Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash coulda been a game changer

I mean

Rudy is an actual pedophile, and the story doesn't condemn him for that or really comment on it being wrong that he actually sleeps with underage girls. Like, the introduction to him is him missing his parents' funeral to masturbate to a video of his niece, who is a child, in the bathroom, and we're supposed to feel sorry for him. His family was 100% in the right to kick him out, and should've pursued legal action against him

People can talk about growth and redemption, and it does show him grow in some ways, but he never has to atone for his worst actions which is why I had to drop the show.

Rudy also sexually assaulted Eris.

I like Jobless Reincarnation on the surface. Interesting powers and fantastic world building. But to your point, there's a lot of problematic stuff under the surface with both Rudy AND Paul. Paul raped the damn housekeeper ffs!

I think the author is talented, but the messages being sent through the show are awful

[MrDollarBills]

After that he's impotent until Sylphie, who he marries and starts a family with.

Yeah, we got a word for that

Grooming.

Wait, I'm lost here, aren't Rudy and Sylphie childhood friends? I still have to catch up

[NYKinMIA]

yeesh, this thread be cringe af.

[DOT]

What's really frustrating about Isekai anime, is even the good ones can't capture what the light novels did. Mushoku Tensei the anime can't convey all the psychological aspects that the Light Novel does. So Rudeus' growth and development just doesn't hit like it does in the light novel. On the one hand, they do their best to show that it's a narrative about overcoming trauma...on the other hand, there's no quick and easy way to convey Rudeus' confusion, misunderstandings, and trauma responses in 20-minute episode formats.

...and the rest of the Isekai that had interesting and new POV's all got dropped after one season. Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash coulda been a game changer

I mean

Rudy is an actual pedophile, and the story doesn't condemn him for that or really comment on it being wrong that he actually sleeps with underage girls. Like, the introduction to him is him missing his parents' funeral to masturbate to a video of his niece, who is a child, in the bathroom, and we're supposed to feel sorry for him. His family was 100% in the right to kick him out, and should've pursued legal action against him

People can talk about growth and redemption, and it does show him grow in some ways, but he never has to atone for his worst actions which is why I had to drop the show.

Rudy also sexually assaulted Eris.

I like Jobless Reincarnation on the surface. Interesting powers and fantastic world building. But to your point, there's a lot of problematic stuff under the surface with both Rudy AND Paul. Paul raped the damn housekeeper ffs!

I think the author is talented, but the messages being sent through the show are awful

It's another of those "in this world, slavery and rape are fine" sort of things. Rudy walks in on his grandfather raping one of the maids, and he just sort of brushes it off

Again, it's one of those things where if the story were willing to point out that Rudy in these instances is not good and he has to correct himself, that's one thing. The fact it doesn't is the issue and why I can't fully buy into it as a story of redemption, cause a lot of the sh*tty things Rudy does are never commented on in the story

It's like how in Shield Hero, the dude enslaves his harem of underage girls. At the very least (as far as I know) he doesn't sleep with any of them, but the story doesn't treat him like he's in the wrong for that, it puts him as being in the right

I know that's the problem with a lot of anime (and especially Isekai), but if we're gonna comment on it in other shows, we should hold Mushoku Tensei to a similar standard, especially when the show tries to sell people on the idea it's deep and about redemption.

[j4remi]

Wait, I'm lost here, aren't Rudy and Sylphie childhood friends? I still have to catch up

They were childhood friends who split up after a brief amount of time. When they meet again, Sylphie is disguised as Fitz (a guy), and he has no clue that it's her. They spend half a year developing a new bond, with him being completely clueless. The entire relationship builds without Rudy being aware that he's hanging out with Sylphie.

That's why that relationship ends healthily. He comes from a genuine place. With Eris, he gets punished. He gets beaten up. She abandons him. He gets depressed. Then he gets punished again with a character named Sara. He gets depressed to the point of attempting suicide.

The Fitz/Rudy thing happens after all of that, when they're around 17 years old and it doesn't become more than friends until nearly a year of just plain friendship.

[j4remi]

It's another of those "in this world, slavery and rape are fine" sort of things. Rudy walks in on his grandfather raping one of the maids, and he just sort of brushes it off

Again, it's one of those things where if the story were willing to point out that Rudy in these instances is not good and he has to correct himself, that's one thing. The fact it doesn't is the issue and why I can't fully buy into it as a story of redemption, cause a lot of the sh*tty things Rudy does are never commented on in the story

It's like how in Shield Hero, the dude enslaves his harem of underage girls. At the very least (as far as I know) he doesn't sleep with any of them, but the story doesn't treat him like he's in the wrong for that, it puts him as being in the right

I know that's the problem with a lot of anime (and especially Isekai), but if we're gonna comment on it in other shows, we should hold Mushoku Tensei to a similar standard, especially when the show tries to sell people on the idea it's deep and about redemption.

That's why I keep differentiating the LIGHT NOVEL from the ANIME (or Manga for that matter).

In the Light Novel, Rudy's inner monologues hit way different. The grandpa scene, he's taken aback but has to play it off because of the circumstances. He CONSTANTLY trashes Paul for illicit sexual behavior.

When Rudy himself screws up, he's explicit that he messed up and needs to change his behavior. The idea that any of it is handled with kid gloves comes from the anime not being able to give us as much inner monologue as the novels do. It also has the benefit of showing other characters' inner thoughts in bonus chapters, and typically, one of the side characters will address something being creepy or messed up even when Rudy doesn't acknowledge something is messed up.

[MrDollarBills]

yeesh, this thread be cringe af.

Actually it's not cringe enough. Watch this:

Watch on YouTube

[MrDollarBills]

Watch on YouTube

I've been getting caught up on Konosuba

[Luv those Knicks]

Any Star Trek fans here? I thought the season 2 cliffhanger of Strange New Worlds was pretty intense. Looking forward to season 3.

And Star-Fleet Academy starts next year. Paul Giammati & Holly Hunter cast so far, as perhaps professors at the academy? The show will focus on students. I'm looking forward to it.

Are these shows all connected? I haven't kept up with Star Trek since the Chris Pine led project kinda fizzled out

The new shows all tie into original cannon. The JJ Abrams movies aren't cannon.

I didn't like Star Trek Discovery (STD - hehe). Too many changes. It didn't feel like it was loyal to Star Trek. Finishing up it's 5th and final season.

Star Trek Lower Decks (cartoon) was cute. Not everyone likes it. It's silly more than laugh out loud, but I enjoyed some of the episodes. Also finishing it's 5th season now.

I like Strange new Worlds - just finished it's 2nd season. That's more like traditional Star Trek. Season two was better than season one and had a cool cliffhanger. Looking forward to season 3.

Captain Pike, Spock, Uhura, Guest appearances with young Kirk, lots of references. If you liked Next Gen/DS9, I think Strange New Worlds is worth a look. It's close to that quality I think and it feels like Star Trek.

[KnicksGadfly]

Been getting into Frieren more...the nostalgic feel does make things more fun. I'm reminded of some video games that have done an amazing job of bringing out those feelings in me. The Mass Effect Legendary Edition DLC -- man, that was amazing. Persona 4, towards the end of the game. Final Fantasy VIII (the first one I ever played).

[MrDollarBills]

Been getting into Frieren more...the nostalgic feel does make things more fun. I'm reminded of some video games that have done an amazing job of bringing out those feelings in me. The Mass Effect Legendary Edition DLC -- man, that was amazing. Persona 4, towards the end of the game. Final Fantasy VIII (the first one I ever played).

I would kill for a Frieren RPG original just based around Frieren, Himmel and their party defeating the Demon King